Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has come to Sukhumi.

Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh, Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab, Speaker Nugzar Ashuba, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Stranichkin and Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba welcomed him at the airport.

Right upon the arrival, the Russian delegation visited a secondary school reconstructed with the assistance of Moscow. Lavrov’s meeting with Abkhaz officials and a press conference will come next. That is the first official visit of a high-ranking Russian representative to Abkhazia within the past 15 years.

Russia and Abkhazia established diplomatic relations on September 9. The Sukhumi negotiations may center on the opening of a Russian embassy in Abkhazia.